The following description relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) for accessing data objects. A data object can be a file, a document, an image, a graphic, or portion thereof, or any other collection or format of information that can be electronically stored in a storage medium. Stored data objects can be accessed and retrieved from storage by a user through an interface. A computing system commonly employs a GUI for data object access. In the GUI, representations of data objects are presented to a user in at least one type of arrangement. An arrangement defines a relationship among a group of data objects. A data object can be represented as a graphic or text, and the arrangement can usually be viewed on a display for quick access.
For example, data objects relating to a particular project can be associated with at least one of a number of different phases of a project life cycle. Each project phase can then be displayed as a folder in a GUI, and a data object such as a document that relates to a particular phase can be represented as a document icon within that phase's folder. A user wishing to access a particular data object operates an input device to direct a pointer to the icon representing the data object.
Graphical representations of arrangements of data objects can be standardized in a computing system. For instance, application programs that are compatible with the Microsoft Windows™ operating system display data objects as a collection of large icons or small icons, or as a list, and may include details or a thumbnail representation. Folders, documents, pictures, files, etc., can each have their own unique identifying icon. Further, icons can be arranged and displayed according to name, type, size, or date, etc. Alternatively, Web-based applications that are accessible from a web page or portal can display a variety representations of data objects as a hyperlink defined according to a markup language. Common representations include underlined blue text, an icon or other graphic.
Regardless how an arrangement of data objects is displayed, a user is usually presented with only one arrangement at a time. If two or more arrangements are presented, the user can usually only navigate one arrangement at a time. As one data object may be associated with more than one arrangement, and as several storage arrangements can overlap, conventional access and retrieval systems are limited in their capability to display multiple arrangements of data objects for quick access.